Proustian
Sensory memory evoking
Proustian describes something reminiscent of the French novelist Marcel Proust or his literary style—particularly the evocation of memory through sensory experience.
A Proustian moment is when a taste, smell, or sensation triggers a flood of involuntary recollection, as when Proust's narrator tastes a madeleine dipped in tea and recovers his childhood.
The term also suggests elaborate, introspective prose with long, winding sentences.
Shell-molded French sponge
- teaSteeped leaf beverage
- aromaPleasant distinctive smell
- scentAirborne odor detected
- fragrancePleasing olfactory quality
olfactory · taste · gustatory · texture · tactile · flavor · whiff · palate
Shell-molded French sponge
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- recollectionRecalled mental image
- remembranceAct of holding something in mind
- reverieAbstracted, pleasant daydream
nostalgia · wistfulness · longing · yearning · melancholy · bittersweet · hiraeth · past
Favoring contemporary approaches
- stream-of-consciousnessNarrative of unfiltered thought
- novelNew and unusual
- narrativeAccount of events
- proseUnversified language
digression · sentence · syntax · parenthetical · labyrinthine · meandering · discursive
State of sentient awareness
- self-examinationScrutiny of one's thoughts
- interiorityQuality of inner life
- subjectivityPersonal viewpoint coloring perception
- reflectionReturned light or thought
contemplation · rumination · psychological · self-awareness · meditation · solitude · observation · perception
Of excessive duration
- digressiveTending to stray topically
- meanderingFollowing a winding course
- labyrinthineExtremely complex and winding
- ornateElaborately decorated
intricate · layered · complex · detailed · embroidered · serpentine · nested · baroque
madeleine
Shell-molded French sponge
fragrance · olfactory · taste · gustatory · texture · tactile · flavor · whiff · palate · synesthesia
madeleine
Shell-molded French sponge
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- recollectionRecalled mental image
- remembranceAct of holding something in mind
reverie · nostalgia · wistfulness · longing · yearning · melancholy · bittersweet · hiraeth · past · bygone
modernism
Favoring contemporary approaches
- stream-of-consciousnessNarrative of unfiltered thought
- novelNew and unusual
- narrativeAccount of events
prose · digression · sentence · syntax · parenthetical · labyrinthine · meandering · discursive
consciousness
State of sentient awareness
- self-examinationScrutiny of one's thoughts
- interiorityQuality of inner life
- subjectivityPersonal viewpoint coloring perception
reflection · contemplation · rumination · psychological · self-awareness · meditation · solitude · observation · perception · sensitivity
lengthy
Of excessive duration
- digressiveTending to stray topically
- meanderingFollowing a winding course
- labyrinthineExtremely complex and winding
ornate · intricate · layered · complex · detailed · embroidered · serpentine · nested · baroque · involuted
ProustianHemingwayesque
Terse, masculine prose style
minimalist · laconic · terse · spare · clipped
Proustianfuturist
Tomorrow trends scholar
forward-looking · immediate · mindful · amnesiac · ahistorical